Teaching languages:
Quality counts
Commitment
Learning a language can make children better
thinkers, better communicators and better global
citizens. How much your students benefit
depends on the quality of your school’s
languages program.
The Victorian Government’s Vision for
Languages Education requires all government
schools to teach a language at Prep level, at a
minimum, by 2015. This is the first step towards
providing high-quality languages programs from
Prep to Year 10 by 2025.
Languages are a key learning area. Delivering the
best possible program requires planning,
commitment and resources.
Planning
Devise a logical, sequential and stimulating
teaching and learning program that engages
students and supports them to accumulate
knowledge and skills.
Monitor progress with appropriate formative
and summative assessment. This ensures you
are able to adjust your program to meet the
needs of your students, as well as assuring the
consistency and high quality of the overall
program.
Teach languages and culture together.
Studies show that this is the most natural way to
help students understand and engage with other
cultures.
Promote proficiency by allowing students to
practise their skills in authentic situations, such
as by conversing with native speakers in
Australia and overseas, or emailing pen pals.
Form “clusters” of schools that teach the
same language or languages. This allows
students to continue their studies as they move
from primary to secondary school and provides
a point of choice for parents, as well as
supporting schools to share resources.
Department of Education and Training
Authorised by the Victorian Government
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Ensure languages have a strong place on the
timetable. Studies show that 150 minutes a
week of frequent, regular lessons helps students
gain proficiency.
Understand and promote the benefits of
learning a language to staff, students, parents
and the community. Consult with them about
which language/s will be taught, as well as on
any changes to the language/s offered.
Resources
Employ qualified language teachers, and
allow them access to professional development
to maintain their language skills. ICT tools such
as video-conferencing can help schools share
qualified teachers with other schools.
Language assistants, native speakers and
online materials can be excellent resources,
but must be viewed as value-adding, rather than
as replacements for a qualified language
teacher.
Partnerships also contribute to the
resourcing, diversity and real-life appeal of
learning a language. You could share teachers
and programs with other schools, engage the
help of community groups or foreign
governments, or arrange regular visits by
bilingual family and community members.
Consider new approaches. Content and
Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) maximises
class time by teaching key subjects, such as
maths, in another language. Research shows
concepts transfer readily, so a child who learns
to multiply in Spanish, for example, can easily
do the same in English.
For more ideas and advice, please visit:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/princ
ipals/curriculum/Pages/languages.aspx